One area in which the invention finds particular utility is in the construction of inexpensive, rapidly built ice skating rinks, one example of which is disclosed in the U.S. patent to Vickery, U.S. Pat. No. 3,933,002. According to that patent, a tubular member is laid out as a closed loop or geometrical pattern and a sheet overlies the tube so formed, lapping over the tube along the edges of the sheet and the middle of the sheet being depressed to ground level to form a shallow cup-like container. The tube is filled with water (subsequently frozen) or some other substance such as foam rubber to lend rigidity, and the 37 cup" is filled with water which is subsequently frozen. The edges of the sheet are retained clamped to the tube by wire or like bails spaced about the periphery of the pattern.
There are several disadvantages to a construction of this type. First, the clamp members, being spaced apart, expose the sheet -- which is conventionally the well-known polyethylene material -- to damage from the skaters stepping on it at the tube area, and consequently some form of additional protective means, such as mats, must be provided. Second, since the tube is not self-sustaining and must be filled with water and then frozen, the structure does not lend itself to warm-weather use; e.g., as wading pools for children, rock gardens, fountains, etc. Third, the wire clamps leave much to be desired in the way of adequate connection of the sheet to the tube. Fourth, if the tube is filled with a foamed substance rather than frozen water, the cost and weight are increased, besides which problems arise when the rink, for example, is dismantled for warm weather.